Food production, means of livelihood threatened as agency closes Kano dam 

One month after the closure of Tiga Dam, dry season farmers in about six local government areas of Kano State have lamented how their sources of livelihood have been hampered. 

The farmers, who used the facility to farm crops such as wheat, rice, tomato, cabbage and many more, lamented that they would not be able to farm this dry season and that would imply no food for their families and for sale. 

One of the rice farmers in Gafan town, Garun Mallam Local Government Area, Danbaba Adamu, said they used Tiga Dam as the main source of water for dry farming sessions. 

Reports from the Hadejia Jamaare River Basin Development Authority (HJRDBA) indicated that the agency had ordered total closure of the dam from November 1, 2021, and would not open it until March 31, 2021. 

According to Adamu, the closure of Tiga Dam has been a major source of concern to the farmers who lost a great deal during the last rainy season due to an abrupt end of rainfalls. 

He said the move would negatively affect food production in the country, especially during this year’s dry season, which would likely increase crime in the country. 

On his part, Kano State chairman of Tomato Out-Growers Association of Nigeria (TOGAN), Alhaji Sani Danladi Yadakwari, described the closure of the dam as a bad decision by the management of the basin, considering the huge negative impact such action would have on dry season farmers and food production in the state.

“Our dry season farmers in Kano State, especially those within the five local government areas, are living in anguish due to uncalculated HJRBDA’s decision to close Tiga dam,” he bemoaned.

Another dry season farmer in Danhassan town of Kura Local Government Area said they were shocked when they discovered that the dam had been closed some days ago. 

“With the closure of the dam, which we rely on for irrigation farming, we are now jobless. What remains for us now? Nothing is left. We have to look elsewhere to feed our families,” he said. 

However, the HJRBDA office in Kano announced the agency’s decision to close the dam for repairs, which they said had become necessary. 

The repair is in line with the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMING), which is a World Bank-funded project to implement the rehabilitation of the Kano River Irrigation Schemes (KRIS) and Hadejia Valley Irrigation Scheme (HVIS).